


Old Haunts and a Light in the Dark

by suzyjuuzou



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Gen, dark themes, shinohara to the rescue, slight gore but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-27
Updated: 2015-03-27
Packaged: 2018-03-19 19:53:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3622197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suzyjuuzou/pseuds/suzyjuuzou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Juuzou doesn't like the dark much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old Haunts and a Light in the Dark

Juuzou had fallen asleep at Shinohara's desk for a bit longer than anticipated. He awoke, a bit startled, with a large suit jacket draped over his shoulders and a stiff back. This didn't bother him much, though. The real problem was how dark it was in Shinohara's office.

Juuzou didn't like the dark much. It reminded him of bad places and worse times. The first half of his life was shrouded in darkness, making him feel like those fish that live in deep underwater caves. He was completely unable to see anything past the walls of his dim room. Everything was dark during those years. 

His skin was dark from dirt, blood, and bruises. 

His eyes were dark from a lack of sleep and lack of will to live. 

His mother's lipstick was dark on lips that pulled back to reveal a sinister grin as she cooed the words, "Such a good boy, my little Juuzou is." 

Juuzou felt blind again, and his eyes began to play tricks on him in the dark. Tools and odd instruments appeared on the desk in front of him, making him jolt out of the chair, knocking it over and backing up until his back was against the wall and he was breathing heavily. 

"They're not really there, right, Rei?" He practically shrieked. Juuzou's voice cracked and faltered. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head vigorously, but they were still there when he opened his eyes. 

Feeling his way through the dark, he searched frantically for the light switch, but the entire room had morphed into that which he escaped from so long ago. There were blood stains on the floor where pools of his very own blood had dried long ago. He could practically smell it. Screams in a younger version of his voice echoed in his head until he was screaming too. "Stop it, Rei," he yelled. "You'll make Mama mad!"

His eyebrows drew together, and he brought an index finger to his lips, shushing the black surrounding him. Throaty laughter came from behind him and Juuzou fell to the floor, remembering the sound all too well.  
Though he couldn't see her, he could feel her presence and smell the bloodlust radiating from her. 

His mother's voice floated through his ears, "There's Mama's good boy."

Juuzou dragged his knees to his chest and covered his ears tightly. "Go away," he whispered. "Make her go away."

"What should your reward for today be, my precious child?" The large woman's voice asked, bemused. "How about your favorite?"

She wasn't really there, but Juuzou could still picture her standing there, towering above him with pliers she typically used to rip his nails off with. He yelped, remembering the pain and curling tighter into a ball. 

"Juuzou?" 

"No!" Juuzou yelled, although it wasn't even his mother's voice. It was one more soothing.

The light turned on to reveal Shinohara's office to now look like a nightmare. Juuzou had knocked his stuff all over the place in his terror.

Juuzou was still sat on the floor, but his tension was fading. Shinohara crouched down and placed a hand on the trembling boy's shoulder. He looked much younger than normal, especially with his eyes glossed over as though he were about to cry. And he did cry, but Shinohara pulled him into his arms and didn't let go until Juuzou stopped. 

Juuzou opened his mouth to thank Shinohara, but quickly closed it when he realized he was about to refer to his partner as "dad." In the silent moments of Shinohara holding him, he really did seem like a father.

"I'll remember to leave the lights on from now on," Shinohara offered a reassuring smile to Juuzou after releasing him slightly, holding him at an arm's length. 

Juuzou didn't like the dark much. It reminded him too much of the past and left him trembling and terrified, but he knew, as long as a light like Shinohara was by his side, he had nothing to worry about.

**Author's Note:**

> Too bad Shinohara won't always be by his side. (Hope you get the hint. There's going to be a follow-up story soon.)
> 
> I apologize for the quality of this story. It's not my best, but it was a small idea I had and I really wanted to turn it into something I could build off of later on.
> 
> Also, I'm accepting requests!! (Not just Tokyo Ghoul related either!)


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